Printing mask for dating photographic prints



April 21, 1936.

J. L. DANEKER PRINTINGMA SK FOR DATING PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS Filed 001;. 11, 1955 ameuz nuTnmizmn fie .llllllL 'Q 1 JOHN L. DANE/(ER APRIL-I935 Patented Apr. 21, .1936

UNITED STATES PRINTING MASK FOR DATING PHOTO- GRAPHIC PRINTS John L. Daneker, Providence, R. I.

Application October 11, 1935, Serial No. 44,622

14 Claims.

My invention relates to means for placing a date upon photographic prints, particularly those photographed by amateurs, which will identify the date upon which the photograph was made, being accomplished in an artistic manner, with little additional labor, and greatly enhancing the desirability of such dated photographs.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide the means for so marking or dating photographic prints that it may be done without any appreciable additional labor or equipment by the. user, the dating being simultaneous with the printing of the photograph and with the identical printing equipment heretofore in use modified by the mask comprising my invention. Further details will be given in the description which follows.

I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is an elevational view of the face of the mask.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the mask.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the face of the mask showing a variation of the dating indicia means.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the mask illustrated in Figure 3, showing particularly the dating, indicia means, and with thickness of the mask body enlarged to better show structural details.

Figure 5 isa fragmentary elevational view of the face of the mask, showing an additional variation of the dating indicia means.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the mask illustrated in Figure 5, showing the dating indicia means, and with thickness of the mask body enlarged to better show structural details.

Figure '7 is a fragmentary elevational view of the face of the mask shown in Figure 1, showing the opaque portions in black and the transparent portions in white. r I r In the construction of the photographic mask illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 7 I use a fiat sheet of material I as the body of the mask by which the feature .of the image to be printed from the photographic film may be defined and through which light may pass as desired to the sheet of sensitized photographic printing paper in the conventional manner.

The mask body I may be of any suitable mask material which permits of opaque and transparent portions, whether by chemical treatment, surface application, or cutting or punching, such as film, glass, metal, or similar substances. I

have found kodalith film to have particular advantages for such use, as hereinafter described, and other film printing black and white only may be used.

In the description of the features of the mask 5' it is to be understood that, excepting for the various features thereof through which light is to pass to the sensitized paper (such features being those hereinafter referred to as the window, the border, and the dating indicia), the 10 mask is to be opaque in the usual manner.

The mask material I, of such shape as to fit the usual sizes and types of printing frames, is prepared with a transparent area or window 2 in the center thereof defining the image printing area, and through which the light rays may filter to such area of the photographic film for the purpose of printing the image upon the sensitized paper in the conventional manner. This window 2 may be made by the removal of such center portion entirely from the mask body I, or by rendering such portion transparent wherever the nature of the mask body permits trans parency.

Such masks may be prepared to print any desired size of photograph and, as an important feature of my invention which increases its general adaptability and usefulness, a narrow border 3 is included circumscribing the window feature 2 at a uniform distance from all sides and of suflicient distance to be outside the exposed portion of the photographic film from which the print of the image is being made. The use of a broken border 3, as illustrated, or corner border, such as by having blank spaces intermediate the corners as illustrated in Figures 1, 3, and 5, further increases its adaptability to the purposes of my invention.

As in the case of the window 2, the border feature 3 is intended to be transparent and may be made so by entire removal of the constituent portions from the mask body to make slits therein or, as in the case of glass or film masks, may be made by causing such border portions to be transparent in contrast to the normally opaque condition of the mask body surface in order that light may pass through to thesensitized paper.

fined by. the window 2, and the. borderdesign 3. 1

I have found it particularly convenient and desirable both for practical and for artistic purposes to locate said dating indicia 4 in line with the border feature 3 and in the center of the blank portion intermediate the end portions of such border design on that side below the photographic image to be printed.

It being well known that in the printing of rectangular photographs from film without segregation there will be found exposures with images to be observed with the rectangle in vertical position, while in others it will be horizontal. Through use of my invention it is possible to use the same mask, without removal from the printing frame, in the printing of both such types of photographs and in dating them. It may also be desired in some instances to have the same photograph printed with the date below the image on some prints and along one of the vertical sides on others.

These objects may be accomplished through use of my mask without removal of either the film or the mask from the printing frame, by having the dating indicia 4 parallel with and at least on two adjoining sides of the window 2, as shown in Figure 1, thus being available for printing parallel with either the short or the long side of the rectangular photograph, or in horizontal or vertical position in relation to the photographic image.

In order that each of these indicia 4 may be used as desired, I have provided flaps 5 of thin opaque flexible material, as illustrated in the drawing, with fold hinge 6, with the portion thereof on the opposite end of said hinge being secured to the side of the mask body l as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3. The flaps 5 are thus movable over the dating indicia to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The op erator is thereby enabled to select the dating indicia on the short side or on the long side of the window 2, or upon the horizontal or the vertical side thereof, depending upon the desired position for the date upon the finished print. Hinged flaps 5, as shown, have been found to be particularly adaptable to the uses of my invention, as there is less likelihood of slipping of such flap from its proper position over the dating indicia. The base of the flap being firmly fixed at the hinge 6, it is easily turned over the dating indicia 4 without danger of movement from side to side whereby any other feature of the mask border might be made opaque and its symmetry destroyed.

It is advantageous to use the type of film previously described for the mask body l as it is prepared very readily through the making. of a master drawing of the border design 3. The date 4 to be shown on the film may be prepared in drawing form and removably secured to such master drawing of the border in the desired positions, and a negative of the whole made through exposure and developing the film. The film may be made in various sizes to conform to the size of prints to be made with the masks. The preparation of the mask may then be completed by the attachment of the flaps or indicia covers 5 and, should the window 2 not have been rendered transparent by being shown on the drawing in the same manner as the border then by removal of such window portion. Photographic plates may, of course, be used in like manner.

While for practical purposes my invention involves the preparation of masks with the dating indicia 4 integral with the mask body I, such as when made in the manner just described, when the mask is made of any material of appreciable thickness, such as glass or metal, it may be so prepared that the dating indicia 4 is removable for the purpose of substituting different dates in the same mask body.

Means for doing this are illustrated in Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6, where 1 represents a removable element including the dating indicia 4, which can be aflixed in a slotted portion of the mask body I as shown, the surface of such element being opaque in all portions excepting the dating indicia.

Where material of natural transparency, such as glass, is used, the slotted portion of the mask above which is placed the element 1 including the dating indicia will allow passage of light through the indicia to the sensitized paper, but in material naturally opaque (such as metal) an aperture 8 must be provided in the slotted portion to permit passage of light through the dating indicia. Such aperture 8 is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5..

The preparations for photographic printing including use of my invention follow the conventional methods heretofore in use. Placing the mask in the'frame, the exposed and developed photographic film is combined with the mask, the image thereon to be printed registering with the mask window 2.

In printing the dated photographs by use of my invention it is then noted whether the image to be printed will appear as a horizontally rec-- tangular picture or as a vertically rectangular picture, and accordingly where the base of the photograph will appear if it is there the dating indicia is to be shown.

When this is determined the opaque hinged flap 5 registering with thedating indicia to be excluded from the print is turned down over that indicia, allowing only the selected indicia to print in the desired position upon the picture. The flap 5 registering with such used indicia may be conveniently held in vertical position or otherwise placed so that it will not interfere with the passage of light through the dating indicia 4.

By combining the sensitized paper in the conventional manner with the developed photographic film and the mask so prepared, simultaneous exposure follows, so that when developed there will appear upon the print both the dating indicia and its accompanying border as well as the photographic image.

Having thus described my invention, Iciaim:

1. In a photographic mask, a window therein, indicia means adjacent to said window, and opaque indicia covering means affixed to said mask, said window and indicia means being transparent and the balance of said mask being opaque.

2. In a photographic mask, a window therein, a plurality of indicia means adjacent to said window, and opaque indicia covering means affixed to said mask, said window and indicia means being transparent and the balance of said mask being opaque.

3. In a photographic mask, a window therein, indicia means adjacent to said window, opaque means ailixed to said mask and movable over said indicia, said window and indicia means being transparent and the balance of said mask'being opaque.

4. In a photographic mask, a window therein, indicia means adjacent to said window, opaque fiap means aflixed to said mask and movable over a sectional border circumscribing said window,

a plurality of opaque cover means afllxed to said mask and movable over sections of said border, said window and border being transparent and the balance of said mask being opaque.

6. In a photographic mask, 'a window therein, a sectional border circumscribing said window and including dating indicia as a feature thereof, opaque cover means afiixed to said mask and movable over said dating indicia, said window and border features of,said mask being transparent and the balance thereof being opaque,

7. In a photographic mask, a window therein,

a sectional border circumscribing said window and including dating indicia as a feature thereof,

opaque flap means hinged to said mask and movable over said indicia, said window, border, and indicia means being transparent andthe balance of said mask being opaque.

8. In a photographic mask, a window therein. a corner'border to said window, indicia intermediate said corner border portions, opaque cover means aflixecl to said mask and movable over said indicia, said window, border, and indicia means being transparent and the balancc'oi said mask being opaque,

9. In a photographic mask, a window therein, a corner border to said window, dating indicia intermediate said corner border portions, opaque cover means aflixed to said mask and movable over said dating indicia, said window, border, and indicia means being transparent and the balance of said mask being opaque,

10. In a photographic mask, a window therein, a corner border to said window, dating indicia intermediate said corner portions, opaque flap means hinged to said mask and movable over said indicia, said window, border, and indicia means being transparent and the balance of said mask being opaque. v

11. In a photographic mask, comprising a list body, a window therein, a corner border to said window, dating indicia in line with and intermediate the portions of said corner border, opaque flaps hinged to said mask body and movable over each of said dating indicia, said window, border, and dating indicia being transparent and the balance of said mask body being opaque.

12. In a photographic mask of the kind described, comprising a flat body, a window therein, a broken border circumscribing said window and the portions of said border being spaced intermediate the corners and of uniform length on parallel sides thereof, dating indicia intermediate said spaced portions of said border, opaque flaps hinged to said mask body and movable over each of said dating indicia, said window, border, and dating indicia being transparent and the balance of said mask body being opaque.

- 13. In a photographic mask of the kind described, comprising a flat body, a window therein, a broken border circumscribing said window and the portions of said border being spaced intermediate the comers and of uniform length on parallel sides thereof, dating indicia intermediate said spaced portions of said border on two adjoining sida thereof, opaque flaps hinged to said mask body and movable over each of said dating indicia, said window, border, and dating indicia being transparent and the balance of said body being opaque,

14. In a photographic mask of the kind described, comprising a flat body, a window therein, a broken border circumscribing said window and the portions of said border being spaced intermediate the corners and of uniform length on parallel sides thereof, means for ailixing dating indicia to said mask body intermediate said spaced portions of said border on two adjoining sides thereof, opaque flaps hinged to said mask body and movable over each of said dating indicia, said window, border, and dating indicia being transparent and the balance of said mask body being opaque.

JOHN L. DANEKER. 5 

